Grow thriving plants everywhere with a click - telescopic LED lights, multiple mounts, and a self-watering system. Anyone can do it!
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Hi Pico-Squad
What's going on everyone?
We're excited as we get tantalizingly close to shipping. Here's a rundown.
We would commence assembly and packing by the third week and we hope to be able to ship the first units in the last week of October from Mumbai through FedEx and UPS. Batteries are to be shipped directly to you from China.
This is a difficult time for anyone in the product development/ electronic manufacturing/ supply chain business. The routine micro-controllers and chips which used to cost in lower cents are costing 100-1000x these days or are with timelines extending to 2022-23. Likewise, shipping costs are up - the freight of a container that used to cost $2500 was touching $20,000. China is closed for all of next week, followed by an unprecedented power rationing to factories.
We were fortunate to have minimal import dependency on China. Yet, the PCB finalization took multiple rounds to accommodate alternative components which were available and simple items like battery and custom cables are much harder to source.
Lastly, we have 566 backers who haven't filled the surveys. Please click this link and do it now to prevent shipping delays - https://picomax.backerkit.com
Likewise, if you hadn't ordered accessories earlier, please add them now. Save shipping by ordering add-ons such as microgreen kits (which helps you get started on day one and harvest on day 7, instead of running to the garden store on weekends), a mini-garden tool-kit (everything you need to build an indoor garden), and extra Picos with free shipping (meaningful gifts for the holidays).
We shall be back with more info soon...
Keep up the good work!
Team Altifarm
Hi Pico Squad,
How's everyone doing?
We're going full-boost towards production, with an aim for shipping for the holidays. But first,
Only when all the orders are locked, we would be in a position to order the color component of raw materials, custom-colored ribbon cables from China, and other components. Typically, many surveys are unfilled due to them going to spam folders, ignored/ procrastinated, or just being lazy, as we do sometimes. Fact: Over 900 backers from Pico Kickstarter are yet to fill the surveys and their packages are lying unshipped at warehouses.
It is very important that you complete the survey here ASAP: https://picomax.backerkit.com
Again, we urge you to order add-ons such as microgreen kits (which helps you get started on day one and harvest on day 7, instead of running to the garden store on weekends), a mini-garden tool-kit (everything you need to build an indoor garden), and extra Picos with free shipping (meaningful gifts for the holidays).
More to come...
Stay safe!
Team Altifarm
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Take a look at this cool campaign by STEMpedia, which we have been following since a while Quarky: Learn AI. Make Bots. Have Fun! by STEMpedia — Kickstarter.
Quarky: an AI & Robotics Learning companion for children
A pocket-sized robot oozing creativity, allowing kids to make their own plant-monitoring system, self-driving cars, expression-mimicking dancers, Mars rovers, and tons of super cool Artificial Intelligence projects.
Quarky - making learning AI an engaging experience for kids!
Hi PicoSquad 🤗
How's everyone doing today?
We're sending out the post-campaign surveys in a couple of days! This email from us with a special link to your BackerKit survey will help you choose the colors for Pico Max and Pico, club add-ons, and share your shipping information so that we could plan the upcoming production and put things in place for shipping before the holiday season. It’s important to respond to your survey as quickly as you can since we need this information to fulfill your rewards.
If you had any trouble with processing the payments on Kickstarter or if you would like to add an extra Pico 2.0 or another Pico Max as a gift for someone else for this holidays, this is time. There's also a bunch of other products such as Herbstation(back in production after design revision) and Altifarm (ready shipping from the USA), both of which would ship in August, and handy add-ons such as Mini-Garden Toolkit and Micro-green Kits.
When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey link to respond. You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase interesting add-on items! After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts. If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://altifarm.backerkit.com. If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at https://altifarm.backerkit.com/faq#contact-us.
We had received funds this weekend and we've set things in motion with our people in the USA, with suppliers in China (braided USB cables, flat ribbon cables and Neodymium magnets) and our factory & vendors in Mumbai.
While most of the injection molds for plastics and die-casting tools for heatsinks are in place, there's work to be done on both the electronic PCBs, optimizing the cables, water-proofing the electronics and battery integration. We decided to swap some components taking into account the global chip shortage and this necessitates minor changes in the PCBs. Barring the prototype-y flat-cables, most of the physical stuff in the campaign photos are already finalized.
We shall share more info in the coming updates, at least one update will be sent every month.
Please follow us on @altifarm on social media for behind the scenes and other content.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Team Altifarm
Hey Pico Squad! 🌳
The final countdown is on — We started our Pico Max journey just over a month ago, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the community we’ve built together here on Kickstarter. 🤩
Thanks to you, we’ve raised more than $320,000 together with over 2,200 backers!
You have been there from the start, we reached our funding goal in less than an hour, and now we’re about to make our Pico Max dreams a reality because of your amazing support 🔥
As we’re nearing the end of the campaign we have some last-minute announcements:
Thrilled to announce that we’ll have early shipping for our Pico 2.0 standalone orders! That’s right! Now you can get started on your garden sooner with shipping set for September.
That this is the last opportunity to get Pico Max and its Add-Ons at the lowest price it’ll ever be offered.
Get Pico Max at 37% OFF the retail price, plus...
To learn how to get the Pico Max and Add-Ons at their lowest price, click the button below and we’ll walk you through!
The very best regards,
Team Pico Max
P. S. Our friend Jim, who's an avid traveler has launched his second Kickstarter campaign, check it below:
The Ultima 22 | Multipurpose Packable Backpack + Hip Pack
Ultima 22 is the Ultralightweight Backpack, designed to be your ultimate outdoor adventures and travel companion. An all-encompassing backpack that provides over 10+ unique features and can even be packed down to the size of a can of soda. Now that's something!